Verona United Methodist Church

Feb 10, 2019 Simeon & Anna – Persistent Faith

Sermon Series: Choices – Biblical examples of faithful decision making

Did you know that Sir Edmund Hillary, the New Zealander who conquered Mount Everest in 1953 with his Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay, was a beekeeper? His family owned 35 apiaries consisting of 1,600 beehives! As a teen-ager and adult working with his dad and brother, he would average between 15 and 100 bee stings a day!

That's right, the world's most renowned mountain climber made his living at beekeeping most of the year, leaving the winter months to sharpen his climbing skills. Eventually, his persistent dedication to his goal of conquering the world's highest peaks would be his greatest fame. But when asked about his incredible work ethic and persistence, he credited the hard, hot, mundane work of lifting and caring for the beehives. His willingness to do that work was in part due to his love for the bees themselves. He wrote in one of his many books: "The spring and summer, when the bees were gathering nectar, was a time of great excitement."

As most of you know, I love bees (not to the point that I go around hugging them, but you know what I mean). And one thing I know after years of being around beehives is that bees are incredibly persistent. To be a successful beekeeper you must adopt a bee's attitude of persistence. To be a faithful follower of Jesus, it doesn't hurt to wed that same attitude of persistence to your faith.

In this week's sermon passage from Luke 2, we learn of the prophetess Anna who spent years at the temple in Jerusalem waiting for the "redemption of Jerusalem" to come. Her persistent faith - no doubt dismissed as a desperate zealousness by many in Jerusalem - was rewarded when Mary and Joseph presented the infant Jesus at the temple. Anna's joy in life was more than complete.

How persistent is your faith? How dedicated are you to the holy life Jesus has called you to? How does that faith influence your choices in life? If we learn anything from the bees and the prophetess Anna and Sir Edmund Hillary, it is that wise choices are only made when accompanied by a persistent belief in God's call upon your life.

Our Sunday morning sermons in January and February are focusing on CHOICES. Like Joseph, Moses, Jonathan, and other people of faith in the Bible, our United Methodist denomination has some critical choices to make in the near future. Over 800 delegates from around the world will meet in St. Louis at a General Conference of the UMC in St. Louis from February 23-26 to attempt to make decisions around the issues of human sexuality and biblical authority that divide our church.

As we pray for this conference and God's will to be done, it seems wise to turn to the Bible and study the men and women who, in their own time, made the critical choice to follow God.

Please pray and ask for God to guide us all in the coming days.

Peace in Christ, Pastor Bob

Luke 2:25-38

Jan 27, 2019 Holy Boldness – Jonathan and the Armor Bearer

Sermon Series: Choices – Biblical examples of faithful decision making

We've looked at two well-known heroes of the Old Testament recently - Joseph and Moses. This week we will explore an incident in the life of a lesser known hero - Jonathan. The life choices each of these three men made were consistently based on their faith in God.

While faith is their common denominator, each man also brought a special trait into their relationship with God. Joseph brought a steadfast commitment to honoring God in all he does. Moses exhibited a personal relationship with God that allows him to lead when others want to turn back. And this week, Jonathan exhibits a holy boldness and courage that gives him the strength to go where God leads, even when his fears tell him to retreat.

How can you and I possess not just boldness, but holy boldness to stand up and go forward in faith when God calls us to action?

Our Sunday morning sermons in January and February are focusing on CHOICES. Like Joseph,, Moses, Jonathan and other people of faith in the Bible, our United Methodist denomination has some critical choices to make in the near future. Over 800 delegates from around the world will meet in St. Louis at a General Conference of the UMC in St. Louis from February 23-26 to attempt to make decisions around the issues of human sexuality and biblical authority that divide our church.

As we pray for this conference and God's will to be done, it seems wise to turn to the Bible and study the men and women who, in their own time, made the critical choice to follow God.

Please pray and ask for God to guide us all in the coming days.

Peace in Christ, Pastor Bob

1 Samuel 14:6-15

Jan 6, 2019 The Integrity of Joseph

Sermon Series: Choices – Biblical examples of faithful decision making

As we begin a new year, I am thankful to God for both the blessings and the challenges of the past, and the hope and promise of the future.

There is no better way to begin 2019 than with the Wesley Covenant Prayer. This prayer is a powerful reminder of who we are called to be in Jesus Christ:

“I am no longer my own, but thine.

Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.

Put me to doing, put me to suffering.

Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,

exalted for thee or brought low for thee.

Let me be full, let me be empty.

Let me have all things, let me have nothing.

I freely and heartily yield all things

to thy pleasure and disposal.

And now, O glorious and blessed God,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.

And the covenant which I have made on earth,

let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.”

Our Sunday morning sermons in January and February will focus on CHOICES. Our United Methodist denomination has some critical choices to make at a General Conference in St. Louis the last week in February around human sexuality and biblical authority. With that in mind, it seems wise to turn to the Bible and view the men and women who, in their own time, made critical choices about faith and holiness.

Remember that God has blessed us to be a blessing to others. How can we help those in desperate need of basic life resources in Verona and beyond?

Peace in Christ, Pastor Bob

Genesis 39:1-10

December 16, 2018 The Truth Shall Set you Free

If Advent (the oft forgotten season that precedes Christmas) means anything, it means truth. The truth about Who is coming and Why he's coming.

For thousands of years, the figure of the woeful prophet, standing in the town square proclaiming the end is near, has made people laugh. Why? Because the end isn't really near, is it? We're young and healthy and we'll live forever. Jesus hasn't come yet, perhaps he never will, but if he does it certainly won't be any time soon. In the meantime, let's live for ourselves as if God were only an afterthought.

Jesus spoke about people who live in that manner, who fail to search for truth and instead live a lie. A rich man builds barn after barn to store his stuff but his life is taken suddenly and without warning. Bridesmaids fail to bring along enough fuel for their lamps and miss the arrival of the groom. All the people who take lightly the coming of the Lord and are tragically unprepared when He arrives.

During Advent, the season of hope and expectation of Christ's coming again, we're looking at the Gospel of John's declarations about the infant born in Bethlehem two thousand years ago. He is the eternal Word; the light of the world; the Way to salvation; the Bread of Life. This Sunday we hear Him as the Truth that must be heard - the truth who is coming and who will set us free!

Peace in Christ, Pastor Bob

John 14:31-32